


Elysalarks

by SkiaWolf



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 03:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13068138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkiaWolf/pseuds/SkiaWolf
Summary: Sorey and Mikleo encountered these small birds when they were young. It turned out that their feathers would hold a meaning for them forever.





	Elysalarks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chibixxv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibixxv/gifts).



> This was a commissioned oneshot, thank you so much for letting me write this adorable idea for you! Hopefully you guys enjoy it, too.

It was a bright spring day in Elysia. After a downpour of rain the day before, the sun had now taken over, basking Elysia in its rays. There were barely any clouds at all in the bright blue sky.

The footsteps of two children could easily be heard as their feet ran across the ground. The soles of their boots splashed in the remainder of water which still dampened the grass. Concerned onlookers worried about them falling over, but they had learned by now that the two could not be stopped when they were playing like this, especially in the midst of a game. Besides, the two were much tougher than their appearances showed, and the smaller of the two had began to develop the ability to heal minor injuries.

“Catch me if you can, Mikleo!”

“Come back here, Sorey!”

Sorey laughed as Mikleo went to reach out to him, dodging out of the way of his hand. Both of their movements froze for a moment as they waited for the other to move. They did so simultaneously, Mikleo dashing forward to Sorey, who side-stepped out of the way. Still laughing, Sorey backed away and escaped behind the nearby house belonging to Zenrus, though he was soon drawn to a stop.

“Got you!” Mikleo exclaimed, letting out a giggle as he slapped Sorey’s arm. He blinked when he saw that Sorey was distracted, and had been caught because of this. “Sorey?”

“Do you hear that?” he asked, turning back to Mikleo, who shook his head. “Listen!”

Mikleo did so. He was able to hear it the moment he concentrated; the cry of what seemed to be young birds, coming from above. “There,” Mikleo said, pointing to a staircase leading up to a wall against the cliff’s edge. “It must be a nest.”

Sorey wasted no time in racing up the stairs in the direction of Mikleo’s finger. He let out a delighted laugh when his eyes looked up at the wall. Mikleo was correct; resting on the wall was a nest with what seemed to be small baby birds, beautifully coloured in shades of orange, white and red. They were crying out for their mother to feed them. She must have currently been searching for food.

“Baby elysalarks!” Sorey exclaimed, standing up on his toes to get a better look. “I’ve never seen them as babies!”

“Whoa,” Mikleo said, steadying his hands on Sorey’s shoulders to help himself see them. “I haven’t, either. They’re cute.”

“I bet they’re waiting for food. Don’t worry guys, I’m sure your mom will be back soon!” Sorey attempted to stroke one of the tiny birds, only to have it nip his finger. He yelped and brought it back to himself, his sudden jolt causing Mikleo to stumble. “Ouch!”

“You _did_ just say that they’re waiting for food.”

“Still, they look so cute that I couldn’t help it …” Sorey looked down at his finger. The pain had already subsided a lot; it was mostly the shock which had hurt him. He tilted his head curiously as soon as he looked down, his eyes now looking past his finger. “Hey, Mikleo …”

“Yes?”

“One fell out of the nest.” Sorey crouched down, scooping a small bird off the floor into his hands. It seemed smaller and thinner than the rest, as though it had lost a fight over food. “I think the others must be bullying him, and that’s how he ended ended up out of the nest …”

“I think its wing is injured from the fall,” Mikleo said, now perched on his knees next to Sorey. His hand hovered over the small bird, the tip of his tongue edging out of his mouth as he focused on healing it. There was a small blue flash of light from under his hand which cloaked the bird, and it was soon stretching out its small wings and letting out a chirp. “There we go.”

“Thanks, Mikleo,” Sorey said. He and Mikleo rose to their feet, Sorey bringing the elysalark close to his chest. “I think … I think we should take care of it, if it’s weak enough to fall out and hurt itself like this.”

“I don’t know,” said Mikleo, seeming uncertain. “Will Gramps let us?”

“He’s got to, right? I mean, we can’t leave it here to get hurt again.”

He turned around in order to descend down the stairs, startled when he saw the small figure standing at the foot of them. “G-Gramps!”

“You have both found the nest, then?” he said, smiling as he made his way up the first few steps.

“Yeah, and Gramps, look.” Sorey showed Zenrus the bird in his hands, his thumb running gently over its feathers. “It fell out the nest, and … Gramps, I wanna look after it. Can I?” He whined when Zenrus shook his head. “But _why?_ ”

“You will do more harm than good by keeping it, Sorey,” he said. “A kept bird will never learn to fly. Put it back.”

“But -”

“Sorey.” As Sorey turned to Mikleo, he was given a small nod of encouragement. With a sigh, Sorey returned back to the wall in order to rise up on his toes and carefully returned the elysalark to its nest.

“There,” Sorey mumbled a little grumpily. “I put it back.”

“You'll see one day, Sorey,” Zenrus said, smiling. “Just wait.”

“I hope that he's right,” Sorey said to Mikleo as they watched Zenrus walk away, leaving them to listen to the birds’ cries. “What if it gets hurt again?”

“Then I'll be right here to heal it again. He's right, though. Birds need to be free. And one day, I'm sure we'll see it fly.”

Sorey smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Mikleo.”

He held out his hand to Mikleo, clenching it into a fist. Mikleo returned the gesture as well as the smile, the two looking at the nest one last time before they finally descended down the steps.

 

* * *

 

A similar spring morning had arrived a decade later. With the stress of responsibility weighing down heavily on each of their shoulders, Sorey and Mikleo were taking some time alone to relax in a forest, sitting down on a log as they listened to the sounds of nature around them.

Warm sun filtered through the trees. Sorey rose his head so this sunlight shone on his face, a smile reaching it as he closed his eyes.

“Mikleo, do you remember that day ten years ago?” he said, bringing his head back down to meet violet eyes. “When we found the nest of baby elysalarks?”

Mikleo nodded. “How could I forget? And they really did turn out to fly one day.”

“Yeah. It was sad to see that the nest was abandoned, but I was also happy that they turned out okay. Gramps was right after all.” Sorey's hands took hold of the handle of his sword to touch the orange feather which was attached to it. “You started quite the trend, didn't you?”

The words caused Mikleo to smile warmly. “That I did.”

Sorey was referring to the day which had occurred several days later, after they had found the elysalark nest. Whilst he had been busy studying seasoning and learning to cook for himself, Mikleo had been venturing around Elysia. He found that his steps had taken him back to the elysalarks’ nest.

There, he found a sight that surprised him. The mother that neither had seen previously now feeding the small birds. And to Mikleo's relief, this included the bird that he had healed, no longer on its own. Mikleo ascended the steps in order to reach the nest.

“Hello,” Mikleo had said, smiling as he rose up on his toes to peer into the nest, his hands resting on the stone wall. “I'm glad to see that you’re all right now.”

The bird seemed to recognise him. It rubbed its head against Mikleo's hand as he raised it to the nest, yet this hand retreated when the mother rose its own head. Mikleo swallowed; it was much larger than its children, and it intimidated him a little.

But then something wonderful had occurred. The baby elysalark seemed to communicate with its mother, causing her to lower her beak to the bottom of the nest. When she rose her head up again, she had numerous feathers of slightly different hues in her beak, which were held towards Mikleo. A sign of gratitude that the two children had shown for her own.

These were the feathers which Mikleo attached to Sorey's clothes, the ones he made into the earrings Sorey would wear. Now, ten years later, he still wore those earrings, and kept the other feathers to attach them to his accessories and sword.

They were a reminder of how one could truly not take flight if secluded, like Sorey had tried for the small bird. Yet they also showed the importance of assistance shown through Mikleo's healing.

“You know, we really haven't seen those elysalarks since we were kids, haven't we?” said Sorey. “Or maybe we just didn't recognise them once they were fully grown. I sometimes think about that little guy.”

Mikleo hummed, resting his elbow on the leg crossed over the other. “It's strange, because we've seen so many creatures since then. Animals, hellions - yet I can still remember how that one bird looked, down to the last feather.”

“And look at how much your healing artes have improved since you helped that little thing,” Sorey grinned, nudging Mikleo with his elbow. “Seems like someone has taken flight, too.”

Mikleo chuckled. “The same can be said for you.”

The two stayed silent for some time, unable to take their minds away from happy memories. Of course, neither wanted to; caught up in these and the peaceful surroundings, they found a level of serenity that neither had experienced for longer than they realised.

The attention was only diverted from this when Sorey took hold of Mikleo's hand, causing the latter to look up at him.

“Mikleo, can you promise me something?” he asked.

“Always,” Mikleo said immediately, his voice genuine. Sorey smiled, and with gratitude felt over Mikleo's loyalty, gave Mikleo's hand a gentle squeeze.

“If something ever happens to me -”

“Nothing will. But go on.”

Sorey chuckles. “ _If_ that happens, I know it sounds stupid, but … Would you be able to wear one for me? As a memory? It just kind of feels like a way to always have me with you, if that makes any sense.”

“It does. I would have done that even if you hadn't asked, Sorey.” He looked at their intertwined hands, smiling faintly. “I … I like to imagine that nothing will ever happen to you. But I'll still bear it in mind.”

“Thank you, Mikleo. It means a lot.”

“No need to thank me, silly. Of course I'd want to do something that reminds me of you.”

“Still, I'm grateful. But for now,” Sorey brought Mikleo's hand up to his lips to place a kiss down onto it, “I'm right here, so you don't need anything to remind yourself of me just yet.”

“Unfortunately so,” Mikleo responded jokingly. A faint blush has risen to his cheeks regardless of his words, and he watched as Sorey lowered their hands back between them. Mikleo scooted over the log in order to sit closer to him, resting his head on his shoulder. “Really though, don't go anywhere just yet.”

“Of course I won't. We've got to still find that elysalark, right?”

Mikleo chuckled softly. “That's true.”

Sorey leaned down to press his lips on top of Mikleo's head. He wanted to say much more than this, to truly express how much he was looking forward to more times he would spend with Mikleo, as well as how much he wanted to be remembered. But he did not have to.

Mikleo always understood Sorey even without details. He knew how serious he was, how much meaning was behind his words. With connected hearts, it felt as though their thoughts and feelings were equally connected. Neither could imagine this being any other way.

The two fell back into silence, appreciating their closeness and the warmth they shared as they listened to the life of the forest around them.

 

* * *

 

It had happened. No matter how much Mikleo had wanted nothing to happen to Sorey, no matter how desperately he had wanted Sorey's wishes to not have to be fulfilled after all, he lost him. Centuries were not forever, of course. But they might as well had been.

Yet Mikleo stayed true to the promise he had made. Of course he did. The soft elysalark feather that Sorey had always adored were now a part of Mikleo, too. They were attached to the belt which was wrapped around his waist, as a reminder of the man he had loved.

No, “loved” was incorrect. The man he _loves._ Because he knew that Sorey was going to return one day. He just had to. Even if it was difficult to have faith, it was still there, helping him to pull through each and every day. The feather, as small and simple as it may have seemed, was one of the things which helped with this.

One day brought him to Elysia. The residents were pleasantly surprised to see him. They must have known that he was suffering from missing Sorey so terribly, yet they did not mention it. Or at least, not the pain; they instead talked about Sorey himself. His cheerfulness, his bravery, the times he broke the rules and often responded with a cheeky grin. How he and Mikleo had rarely spent their days apart, that they found it incredible when they saw either alone.

They spoke only about the positives about Sorey. And to Mikleo, this was the most kind and considerate thing they could have done. Whilst it reminded Mikleo of how much he missed Sorey, it was not in an overwhelming way, with pain seeming to stab straight through his heart. It was in a way which made him appreciate his memories, feel grateful for all the fun times the two had. Grateful for Sorey himself. He remembered Sorey not with tears trickling down his cheeks, but instead a smile on his face and warmth in his heart.

He would see that man again, hear his voice again. That’s all that mattered.

During this visit, he found a new nest of elysalarks. Of course, they would not be the exact same birds. But he could not help but wonder if the mother here was a descendent of the nest he and Sorey had found together. Her feathers did, after all, look very similar, as did her children. Perhaps it was not too far-fetched to believe that these birds could very well be connected with the ones he had known.

He crouched down to pick up a feather which had fallen to the ground, twisting it between his fingers. They were always so wonderfully soft. It reminded him of how gently Sorey had always held him.

“Don’t cry now,” Mikleo mumbled to himself, one gloved hand wiping at his eyes when he felt tears forming. He did not want to allow them to fall.

Or at least, not in this context. He sometimes failed, but that was to be expected. One day, the tears which fell did not seem like a failure. They were tears brought by entirely different emotions.

Joy, happiness – they seemed to be underestimates of what he felt. Because when his eyes looked up at the silhouette of the man who had caught him and he knew who that man was, there was no describing the rush of emotions he felt. And as soon as he was pulled out of the trap, his arms were wrapped around Sorey’s neck, causing them to both fall to the floor.

And of course, this was when his tears fell. His head buried into Sorey’s chest, the words _“I’ve missed you”_ and _“You’re back”_ barely coherent through his sobbing. It continued and continued until Sorey’s shirt was wet with tears, until exhaustion washed over him from the overwhelming emotions. Until Sorey had brought up the face flushed by prolonged crying and kissed it as though it was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And it was.

Looking back, Mikleo could pull apart the emotions which at the time, he would not have been able to describe. Joy, relief, disbelief, love - there were a huge list of possible words to use. It had been no wonder he cried for so long.

But he was no longer crying anywhere near as much. Nightmares still caused it, when the terror of his sleep brought images of Sorey leaving again. But he would wake to Sorey still being there, never once leaving his side.

And even now, over seven hundred years later, they looked back on the day they saw the elysalarks. After so many years, the memories of their childhood had of course grown blurry. But not this day. After all, the feathers which Mikleo kept with him as he waited in his loneliness were what helped him pull through.

“You really did end up wearing them,” Sorey had said, brushing the tip of Mikleo’s nose with the feathers on his earrings before he attached them to his ears. “Was it all the time I was gone?”

“Of course it was. I think it helped, actually. And strangely enough, it reminded me that when you returned, we’d be free.”

“Just like the elysalarks when they learned to fly?”

Mikleo nodded. “Just like that.”

“That really is beautiful. _Almost_ as beautiful as you.”

He chuckled with a roll of his eyes, smiling as Sorey starting playing with a long curl. “No matter how many years pass, you’re still as cheesy as ever.”

“Of course I am. It’s my charm!” His expression growing softer, Sorey cupped Mikleo’s cheeks with his hands, looking into his eyes. “Thank you for waiting, Mikleo.”

“And thank you for coming home to me.”

Of course Mikleo had waited. After all, he would have never walked away from the happiness he had been blessed with, from the one who meant more to him than everything. The one who made even the smallest things, like feathers, hold such a strong meaning for him.

The one who made his heart soar with every tender kiss.


End file.
